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    MysticLord None of you have learned anything from 2020.

    The only solution to voting shenanigans is to do it all over again.

    CaptainJistuce
    Posted by Nicholas Steel
    American election is baffling: votes, electoral votes, media making crazy predictions the entire time the process is on going and acting like they know the outcome...


    The media is the part that's craziest about it. And the media has an interest in making it as much of a circus as possible.
    The rest of it makes sense if you understand one thing: The states elect the president, not the people.


    Each state gets a number of votes equal to their representation in Congress, and each state's residents select who their state is going to vote for. (This is not required by the constitution, but it is how all fifty states have chosen to implement the process).
    Ideally, states would distribute their votes based on how their respective populations voted, but only two states do this(Nebraska and Maine).

    There is not, in fact, a national election of the president. There are fifty preview elections occurring more or less simultaneously.


    -----------------------------------------

    There's several reasons for it to be set up the way it is.
    Some are still relevant today, such as ensuring the interests of all citizens are represented instead of just the ones in densely-populated states(though the winner-take-all approach most states use in distributing electoral votes damages that intent somewhat).
    Some of those reasons are historical and don't make much sense anymore. The United States was conceived as similar to the European Union, where the states had a great deal of autonomy. The federal government greatly expanded its power during the Great Depression through use of a legal loophole*, so the idea that the states are voting for the president of the union doesn't really sound right anymore because the federal government is deeply involved in the daily lives of everyone.


    The reasons for there being an electoral college made up exclusively of people who are not members of Congress instead of just having Congress vote eludes me, though if I had to guess I'd say it is to prevent members of Congress from voting for themselves disproportionately.






    *Among the powers delegated to the federal government is the exclusive authority to regulate interstate commerce. The federal government takes the stance that everything affects interstate commerce, so they can pass any law they want. The argument is rarely tested, and the few times it has been challenged have seen mixed results.
    Nicholas Steel American election is baffling: votes, electoral votes, media making crazy predictions the entire time the process is on going and acting like they know the outcome...
    CaptainJistuce And now it doesn't look like it can go to Congress. Oh well, one more disappointment in this circus of a year.
    CaptainJistuce It is less of a circus than I expected right now, but that is damning with faint praise.


    I'm excited that there is, at this moment, a credible path to neither asshole getting enough electoral votes, though! If it does, it'll be the first time it goes to Congress since 1825!
    ...
    And THAT opens a fun-but-unlikely scenario: the House selects a president and the Senate selects the opposing vice-president, for the most dysfunctional White House since the early 1800s!

    This is the most excited I've been since the Biden nomination ruined any chance of having a not-shitty president.
    kode54 https://twitter.com/awholelotofderg/status/1323818331120541699
    CaptainJistuce The constitution defines treason very strictly(it is the only crime the constitution defines), and no one has ever been found guilty of treason. Not even in the aftermath of the Civil War.



    "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

    The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted."
    funkyass
    Posted by Kawa
    Posted by funkyass
    treason disqualifies one from a lot of positions.
    Then how can Donald run?
    Money and Blackmail
    Kawaoneechan
    Posted by funkyass
    treason disqualifies one from a lot of positions.
    Then how can Donald run?
    funkyass
    Posted by CaptainJistuce

    ...
    Also, Destro's not a natural-born US citizen in any continuity, to my knowledge. CC needs a new running mate.

    Nether is Cobra Commander eligible to run - treason disqualifies one from a lot of positions.
    CaptainJistuce I did vote seriously last time. I could not, in good conscience, vote for anyone on the presidential ballot.

    I concede that Trump has been worse than I thought possible.


    But mostly that post was just making fun of the whole "mail-in voting fraud" hissyfit.
    ...
    Also, Destro's not a natural-born US citizen in any continuity, to my knowledge. CC needs a new running mate.
    BearOso
    Posted by CaptainJistuce
    Posted by kode54
    Still haven't received our mail in ballots yet.
    Don't worry, they've already been picked up and filled out for you. Cobra Commander/Destro's winning this year for sure!

    If you don’t vote seriously this time I’ll disown you. :) We can’t take the chance of the worst case happening.
    CaptainJistuce
    Posted by kode54
    Still haven't received our mail in ballots yet.
    Don't worry, they've already been picked up and filled out for you. Cobra Commander/Destro's winning this year for sure!
    kode54 Still haven't received our mail in ballots yet.
    BearOso I'm voted and done. Now everyone else make sure you get out there and vote, too. And only for the guy who will let you vote in the future!
    hunterk I'm a Hanlon's razor kinda guy but either way it doesn't bode well for the general election. According to the most recent Gallup poll:
    Posted by "gallup poll"

    Trump’s approval rating among his fellow GOP voters now stands at 94% percent, 6 points higher than registered by the last Gallup poll.
    And 42% of independents approve of the job he is doing, up 3 points.
    Trump’s approval by Democrats fell to 7% — 3 points lower than a prior survey
    It is important to recognize that a majority of "independents" tend to be conservatives who are ashamed to call themselves Republicans for whatever reason (antiestablishmentarians, libertarians, rich blue-staters, etc), but that's an extremely tight margin that makes another electoral college win for Trump pretty likely.

    The most important bit of info to come out of Iowa so far, though, is that Dem voter turnout was at the lackluster 2016 level rather than the high-energy 2008/2012 levels.
    BearOso Well, we’re off to a great start with the Iowa caucuses. The minute the results started coming in and were in favor of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, with Biden in 4th place, an “error” happened. How much do we bet that, when the “results” come in, Biden or Buttigieg is on top, with the candidates who actually won in 3rd and 4th.

    I honestly didn’t think they’d stoop to this, but Trump being around has made everyone into more brazen cheaters. This doesn’t bode well for the U.S. being as it was much longer.
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